AFTER purchasing a dodgy $30 Elvis suit on a whim, comedian Matt Hale of Scarborough unleashed his alter ego ‘Crap Elvis’ on the world.
He found the discounted suit just before embarking on a year-long, round-the-world trip with his girlfriend.
“I was so excited to find the suit; however my girlfriend said it was a waste of money,” Mr Hale said.
“‘It’s not a waste of money if I take it with me’, I replied.”
After packing his suit, along with his toothbrush, boardies and other essential travel items, Mr Hale set off on his journey in January last year.
Back in Perth one year later, he has an album full of photos of ‘Crap Elvis’ next to famous landmarks.
“I have great memories, including being asked to leave The Louvre in Paris and being questioned by security in Red Square, Beijing,” Mr Hale said.
His first destination, however, was Sydney, where he attended an Elvis festival.
“My goal was to lose everything – the look-a-like comp, the sound-a-like comp, everything,” Mr Hale said.
“They gave me the chance to sing a couple of Elvis songs, so I decided to change the lyrics – Return to Sender transformed into a song about receiving spam from a Nigerian bank.
“To my amazement, they loved my songs so much they invited me back to do a full set last month.”
Mr Hale is donning the suit once again for the Raw Comedy 2009 WA competition.
He performs in heat six this week at the Charles Hotel, North Perth and hopes to make his way to the state final in March.
There he will battle it out for a place in The Melbourne Comedy Festival’s national final in April, as well as the chance to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“I don’t sound like Elvis, look like Elvis, or sing like Elvis, I am ‘Crap Elvis’,” Mr Hale said.
“It’s all quite strange because I’m not really an Elvis fan – I just happened to see the suit.”